


Unexpected

by Tizniz



Series: Soulmates [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Continuation, F/M, Probably should read Mark first, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, and Draco will seem like a creepy stalker, or this won't make sense, soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 07:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18232085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tizniz/pseuds/Tizniz
Summary: Continuation of 'Mark'.Hermione comes to some realizations and makes an unexpected discovery.





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Please read 'Mark' first, or this won't make much sense.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for enjoying that story so much! I hope you enjoy this little continuation of the story!
> 
> :)

Hermione could feel a pair of eyes on her and disrupting her reading. Shifting in her seat, she does her best to ignore the piercing gaze on her. But eventually it becomes too much, and her eyes flicker up to meet silvery grey ones that immediately dart away from her inquisitive look.

Huffing angrily, Hermione slams her book closed and pushes her chair back, the scrapping of the feet along the floor loud within the library. Gathering her items quickly, she shoves them into her bag, her eyes forced down so she doesn’t have to see Draco’s gaze still on her.

Why he was insisting on staring at her when she was doing nothing but studying was beyond her.

 

Shouldering her bag, Hermione turns away from the table and aims for the door, only to stumble to a stop when Draco steps in front of her, eyes peering down at her and lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Malfoy.” Hermione says tightly, adjusting the strap on her shoulder. The bag was quite heavy and digging into her uncomfortably. “Can I help you?”

Silently, he stares back at her, eyes moving across her face as if searching for something. His jaw twitches, but he continues to say nothing.

A frustrated sigh slips past her lips, “Malfoy, I am not in the mood to deal with you. So please, just say your comment and let me go.”

Adjusting his stance, Draco crosses his arms, his gaze never wavering. “What’s wrong?”

Blinking in surprise up at the blonde, Hermione tries to process the question. “Excuse me?”

“I know you aren’t deaf, Granger.” Draco snaps lightly, “I asked what’s wrong. You said you aren’t in a good mood—“

“I said I wasn’t in the mood to deal with you, actually.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Apparently not.”

“So what’s wrong?”

Snapping her mouth shut, Hermione thinks of how to respond. It didn’t seem as if he was being insincere; it seemed as if he truly was interested in knowing what was wrong with her. But that wasn’t how Draco Malfoy worked.

Had someone done something to him to alter his brain? Had he been replaced by a decoy Malfoy? Maybe he was sick…

“Merlin, Granger,” Draco mutters, rolling his eyes, “It was a simple question. You don’t need to think of a blood essay for a response!”

“I wasn’t.” She snaps back, fingers tightening around the strap of her back, “I was simply trying to figure out why _you_ suddenly cared if I was in a bad mood or not! Clearly you don’t, as you’ve only managed to make it worse. Now if you’ll _excuse me_.” She pushes past him, knocking his arm with her shoulder, she marches out of the library, pushing any other thought of Draco Malfoy from her mind.

 

Apparently that was easier said than done though.

It now seemed like Draco was everywhere Hermione looked. She even briefly considered the possibility that he was following her, before tossing that thought aside.

Hogwarts wasn’t actually that big, and they were in the same year, so it was natural for her to see him frequently.

But he always had this _look_ about him, and was constantly staring over at her like he was trying to figure out the answer to a difficult puzzle.

It was honestly unnerving, having him constantly watch her. Even if seeing him more often than before made her notice a few things about the Slytherin.

Such as how his eyes were really quite a striking colour—the grey was interwoven with strands of silver that seemed to catch the light and reflect it back out. Or how his hair looked better a little ruffled, like when he would run his fingers through it in class while working through an equation or a spell. Or that his jawline was quite a bit sharper than she’d originally noted, and he was no longer the young boy she’d met six years ago, but was instead a handsome and attractive man.

 

When Hermione had first realized she had thought Draco Malfoy attractive, she had ducked her head to hide the sudden heat of a flush across her cheeks.

No. She did not like him. Did not find him attractive. Of course not. He was an arse, a bully, and a Slytherin!

But then her gaze had shyly snuck a peek over at him, only to see him still watching her, and with a smirk resting on his lips that made her breath catch in her throat.

He had caught her blushing after staring at him.

Shit.

 

The oddest thing Hermione noticed following the encounter in the library was that Draco no longer taunted her like before.

Yes, he still made the occasional comment about her, but there was no real heat behind his words anymore, and they were nowhere near as cruel as before. She couldn’t recall the last time he had even muttered the word _mudblood_ either.

Was Draco Malfoy becoming human?

 

Nearly a month after the library encounter—and many confusing thoughts later—Hermione was sat outside on the grounds, her back against a tree and her face tilted up to the blue sky to catch the warm sunshine that had made an appearance. Her book lay open in her lap, the pages ruffling in the light breeze but remaining unread.

Her moment of solitary peace is disturbed by a shadow falling across her face.

Without opening her eyes, Hermione sighs softly, “Malfoy, you’re blocking my sun.”

“How’d you know it was me?” He replies, but she notes that he shifts to the side, allowing the rays to dance across her skin once more.

Opening her eyes a fraction, she squints up at him, “I just did.”

That comment causes an emotion to flicker in his eyes, but it’s far too quick for her to catch, and so she decides to ignore it. Closing the book in her lap, she places it on top of her bag at her side and lifts a hand to block the sun so she can look up into his face better. “What can I do for you, Malfoy?”

“Nothing.”

“Then please do tell me why you sought me out, if you don’t want anything from me.”

Draco shifts on his feet, a look of unease passing across his face briefly. “I saw you sitting here. I didn’t purposely come and find you, Granger.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

 

Shaking her head, Hermione lowers her hand and moves to grab the book, determined to get lost in the words once more. She’s distracted by Draco suddenly taking a seat in the grass beside her, close enough that their shoulders are pressed together and his foot knocks against hers.

He’s wearing the uniformed shirt and tie, but his sleeves are rolled up and the tie is loosened, a button or two undone to display a piece of his chest. His hair has that ruffled appearance that Hermione finds humanizing and has her fingers twitching to reach up and brush through the blond strands. A mark on his right forearm catches her eye, and she can only just make out the image of a quill before his arm is tucked away against his other side and out of her eyesight.

“Surprised you weren’t in the library.” Draco says, his voice low and soft, the words almost vibrating through his shoulder and into her own.

Startled, her eyes jump up to his, finding his head already turned to the side and looking at her. The sun is casting across his face, the silver laced within the grey of his eyes shining brightly, and the lines of his jaw catching the light.

Her breath gets momentarily caught in her throat at the sight; there was no denying it.

She was well and truly attracted to Draco Malfoy.

 

“Uh—“ He quirks an eyebrow at her stutter of a response, and Hermione blushes, her gaze falling away from his, “It was too nice of a day to spend inside.”

“Hm, that is true.”

“So you went to the library first to find me?” The question has him tensing up beside her, and Hermione only knows this because the length’s of their bodies are pressed together. It sends her heart aflutter, the idea of Draco actively seeking her out.

“No.”

“Liar.”

“Shut up, Granger.”

Giggling, Hermione tilts her head back against the trunk of the tree once more. It was nice, having a normal conversation with Draco, rather than an exchange of snarled comments and insults.

For the briefest of moments, she feels like a normal teenage girl enjoying an early summer afternoon with her boyfriend.

That thought has her cheeks warming once more, but her eyes are closed and so she hopes that he doesn’t notice.

Oh, how wrong she was.

 

“You’re blushing.” Draco says, his voice barely a whisper.

“Am I?” She answers, keeping her eyes firmly shut.

“Why?”

“The heat.”

“Now who’s lying?”

“Shut up, Malfoy.”

It’s his turn to chuckle; a warm and comfortable sound that seeps into her muscles and has her relaxing further into the grass.

Was it meant to be this easy?

 

The feeling of a finger, light as a feather, against her jawline has Hermione jumping, eyes flying open and head snapping over to stare wide eyed at Draco. His arm—the right one, the one with the quill on it—is retracting but remains hovering.

There’s a pondering frown on Draco’s face as his own eyes fall to that of her parted lips.

When her tongue darts out to wet them, she can see the way his pupils follow the movement, dilating a fraction. Swallowing, Hermione tries to say something, but the words are caught in her throat as he speaks instead.

“Do you believe in soulmates, Granger?”

The question startles her more than the touch had, and she takes a few seconds to think of a response. His fingers are still hovering, twitching ever so slightly as if wanting to connect with her skin again, and his gaze remains on her lips. Her own gaze remains locked onto his eyes.

“Soulmates?”

“Yes.”

“I…Well…I suppose if magic is possible…I guess they could exist…”

“Hmm…” Apparently Draco gains some courage, because his fingers move to her jaw again, tracing the line lightly. Hermione’s entire body is frozen in place, even as her heart beats rapidly and her skin burns where his fingers touch.

What was going on?

 

“And if I told you,” He says quietly, leaning in so close that she can feel the heat of his breath against her lips, “That soulmates _do_ exist, and that yours was in front of you, what would you do?”

“I—I—“ The logical part of her brain is trying to process everything being said and line it up with the actions of the past couple of weeks. But the illogical part of Hermione’s brain is screaming at her to shut up and kiss the attractive wizard who clearly wants to kiss her.

“That’s not an answer, Hermione.” Draco murmurs, the sound of her first name sending a shiver down her back.

“I suppose I’d do this.” She forces out, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against his.

 

He reacts instantaneously to the kiss. His lips move against hers, working her mouth open, as his hand slides up along her cheek and into her untameable curls. When Hermione feels his tongue swipe along her bottom lip, she mews lightly into the kiss, granting him the access he’s asked for, her tongue dancing together with his.

The kiss is hot and electric, and the taste of Draco is unlike anything she’s ever experienced before, and she never wants it to end.

 

But eventually her lungs protest at the lack of oxygen, and she pulls back, gasping heavily, her fingers uncurling from the front of his shirt. When had that happened?

Draco’s hand moves down to cup her jaw, his thumb brushing against her swollen bottom lip, his own breath coming out in heavy pants as he stares over at her.

“Well.” Hermione says, blinking away the daze, “That was…unexpected.”

Chuckling, he leans in to press a quick and simple kiss to her lips, “You’re telling me, Granger.”

“So, we’re soulmates?” She asks, her mind latching onto the question from before.

Nodding, Draco pulls his hand away so he can properly show her his forearm. The quill’s lines are dark against his pale skin, and there in the middle she can see her initials, almost sparkling in the sunlight.

“Trust me,” He tells her as her eyes meet his again, a smile gracing his lips, “I was as surprised as you are.”

“Funny enough,” Hermione smiles back at him as her fingers wrap around his tie to pull him closer, “I’m not even that surprised.”


End file.
